New mechanical scale designed for easy installation

A new scale for mechanical suspension systems has been designed for easy mounting, allowing it to be quickly installed in less than one hour, TruckWeight said

A new scale for mechanical suspension systems has been designed for easy mounting, allowing it to be quickly installed in less than one hour, TruckWeight said.

The Mechanical Suspension Onboard Scale requires no welding or special tools, and easily installs on tractors and trailers with walking beam, leaf-spring, and other mechanical suspensions, the company said.

Targeted primarily for refuse, aggregate and logging vehicles, the new product consists of a set of strain gauges or sensors, transmitters and a handheld receiver. The receiver has a range of 500 ft. and displays axle group and gross vehicle weight readings in three-second intervals.

The gauge mounts directly to the suspension with a high-strength adhesive.

“Our new strain gauge mounts directly on the surface of a metal,” said Peter Panagapko, president of TruckWeight. “Previously, the strain gauges were attached to a bar that then needed to be welded to the axle or to a bracketing system. We moved away from that because the measurement was not exact from the axle itself. You had to correct the offset from time to time and the axle OEMs were reluctant to give official authorization for welding on their axles.”

Gauge life is expected to be five years, TruckWeight said, adding that the scales are accurate to within 1% on level ground.